Kid has a lot of Gall

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The offensively challenged Toronto FC had a young striker with English Premiership experience within its grasp earlier this season but couldn't get his name on a contract because of Major League Soccer's policy of owning all league players.

Kevin Gall, a 26-year-old forward, even came to Toronto to train with TFC in March and was excited about joining up with his former Newcastle United coach, John Carver.

Gall, now back in England, told the BBC yesterday that he was impressed with the TFC program at BMO Field and didn't have any problems with playing on an artificial surface.

"It was a great place and I enjoyed my time there," Hall said. " I knew the coach (Carver) from my time at Newcastle and they have signed Laurent Robert, who would have been great to play with."

BAD DEAL

When it came time to sign on the dotted line, however, Gall found out that the MLS would own his contract and not Toronto.

"The deal was not right for me because in America, the league owns your contract and I would have been at Toronto for a couple of years but after that I may have been drafted to another club thousands of miles away.

"I didn't want that for my family."

The native of Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, also was looking forward to playing with TFC midfielder Carl Robinson, one of his soccer heroes.

Gall said that the TFC deal offered him was perfect in every way but for the MLS rule that could have seen him shipped to another franchise at any time.

"I was offered a four-year deal with Toronto, which not many people know about," Gall said.

The thought of having a proven, European-trained striker still in his prime is a prize not many MLS teams get the opportunity to sign.

But now Gall plans to stay in England and play in League One.

"My gut feeling was telling me to go back (to England)," he said. It appears he will sign with Cheltenham, according to that team's manager.